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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Paint Camp

This game has ridiculously tiny pieces.

Whew! I just spent the entire morning cleaning up for the bug man -- moving furniture away from walls, vacuuming, picking up the small toys and game pieces (I'm looking at you, RISK) that insist on making their home where the floor meets the wall. And then I managed to make the pile in the utility room even higher -- I threw on top of it all the junk Larry had piled up by the walls in there. It looks a tad precarious right now, but things should be okay if we don't make any sudden movements. Or until the washer starts its spin cycle...

Please tell me other people have to do this before the exterminator shows up.

Or, maybe not. Maybe I should just accept that we live like pigs. Self-acceptance can be a beautiful thing.

In other news, Brian is attending painting camp this summer, right here at home. Back when we moved in -- oh, 5 years ago -- Larry slapped some paint on the walls that really needed it (for some reason, he didn't WANT a bright pink bedroom) and even painted the entire living room-dining room-front hall area that Christmas (it took us the 6 months between move-in and December to agree on a paint color). He assumed, you see, that he would, sometime in the near future, find time for the details -- the baseboards and doors and window trim and the metal railings along the stairs, all of which were supposed to be bright white but looked rather dingy.

5 years....

Granted, we've been busy. Children will do that to you, you know. But, really, things had gotten to the point where something just had to be done. So I ventured to the paint store earlier this month (43 dollars for a gallon of paint - really?) to pick up the requisite supplies, gave Brian a painter's cap, masked the proper areas, and let him have at it. Really, it doesn't look too bad. I'm eyeing the kitchen cabinets for next. And look at all the money I'm saving on a real camp! Not to mention a professional painter...

So what do you think Larry owes me? Aside from his undying love and devotion, of course...

I clean the house and move the clutter around so it doesn't look as cluttered before we leave on vacation. I say it's because I like to come home to a clean house. But really, it's so the pet sitter doesn't send our name and address to the producers of Hoarders.

That thought occurred to me this morning, as I masked around the cabinets and then started around the kitchen door frame and then began considering painting the french doors between the kitchen and the dining room. And isn't the refrigerator looking a tad dingy now? Can I paint that?

You have more trust in your son than I have in mine. That said, my 2 oldest boys are house-sitting for grandma and grandpa this month, and while they are there, they are supposed to be painting the baseboards. Key phrase: "supposed to be painting". My 16yo is about to attend laundry camp -- that kid waits 3 days to gather up his dirty clothing and put them in the hamper! Grrrrr....

About Me

6 children, 1 husband (I'm boring that way). Here are the kids by name and age, to make it easy on you:
Theo (26), Anna (24), David (20), Brian (17), Rachel (15), and Susie (12, and now taller than I am).
No pictures, no real names, as my husband is totally paranoid. In a cute sort of way, of course...